Entirely Random

Late last year, I participated in Potluck 2.0 and quickly realized that I was unaware of an incredible underground Chicago scene. Potluck is a speaker series (see: Ignite) where people from very diverse backgrounds speak undisturbed for 6 minutes. After presenting about taking the leap into entrepreneurship, I listened to a group of amazing and eclectic Read More

Here’s an idea for a new venture as described in less than 250 words… Let’s start recognizing individuals who influence us in a tangible manner. Over the past year, I’ve actively created a social brand beyond Facebook and have connected with a variety of individuals – many of whom I’ve never met. But while I’m finally Read More

Note: I commented on a post my friend Varun wrote about how quickly the news of Osama’s death spread via social media. I’ve added to my original comments in the post below. A decade has passed since 9/11 and since then, our security and privacy has forever been altered. As expected, our security measures are Read More

Dear Google+, I really want things to work out between us. I know that my relationships with your siblings have ended abruptly (see: Buzz & Wave), but I’m extremely loyal to your family (see: Search, Gmail, and Maps) and want to invest the time to make this happen. Your family is the Kennedys of the internet, and you were crafted by Read More

I started “Just Rick” to discuss What Matters Most To Me. I wanted to share with you a post on What Matters Most to a loyal reader of this blog and FindingRickshaw, and good friend, Varun. My favorite takeaway is that if you want to make change or create value or disrupt, you have to put in the Read More

I spent last week in the Bay Area. I enjoyed the 70 degree weather, amazing food and wine (I’ve changed…), presented a “Brown Bag Lunch” on Dashfire to Stanford GSB students, and had awesome meetings with partners, investors, and friends. In many of my conversations , we discussed the concept of pivoting or the ability Read More

When Cingular acquired AT&T in 2004, former AT&T CEO John Zeglis asked in a press conference: “Hey, Verizon–can you hear us now?” Brash and bold. The two companies have since battled hard for subscribers. AT&T won the Apple iPhone contract and then Verizon’s DROID DOES commercial paved the way for Google’s Android. Then they fought Read More

I’ve flirted with acquiring and operating a small business for a few years. My friend Kal and I were actually on the doorstep of opening a falalfel franchise in Chicago called Maoz, but decided against it at the eleventh hour; not because of the menu though – the falafels are amazing. Kal has since Read More

Part I. Andrew Luck, the amazing Stanford QB, elected to stay in college for another year instead of going pro. Luck was projected to be the #1 pick in the draft and make anywhere between $10 million and $50 million, guaranteed. I think it’s advisable to stay in school if another year will lead to Read More

I have logged 20,000 miles in my CRV (man-car) over the past year driving back and forth from Chicago to Detroit (my hometown) and Chicago to Cincinnati (where Mihira lives). A couple of years ago, when I would make these drives, I would load up on diet coke, plot ahead of time which Taco Bell Read More